Brownies

A stubborn daughter and her equally steadfast immigrant mother argue over dreams versus stability after a recent career switch.

Though Brownies is a comedy, it quickly becomes clear that this argument has high stakes in the lives of the Kumar family.
Through the humor, wit, and pacing of this argument, we learn about the wounds and the deep motivations of both mother and daughter.

• deep seated fears (financial insecurity, womanhood, unfulfillment)
• childhood wounds (feeling enough)
• what an intergenerational diasporic mother-daughter duo must do to meet in the middle

Two people unwilling to be vulnerable with each other, two people who for decades thought they had to only be ‘strong’ for one another, begin to let each other in. Though this argument won’t fix twenty-seven years of tension, it may lead to tomorrow’s argument. and tomorrow’s argument may well lead to next year’s solutions.

Much of this film is a conversation that takes place between rooms. We want our audience to know the space as if it were their own, to hear the natural reverb of the living room hardwood or the harsh stillness of the kitchen tile. We want our audience to feel the deadened thump of the dropped groceries, to be aware of just how far Sarita walks away when the argument continues to heat up. We want audiences to hear Tara’s held breath as Sarita listens to Tara’s compositions, to hear Tara run her fingers over her mother’s palms.

There are few things more colorful or chaotic than a diaspora household. This is a house caught between places – generations. We want to emphasize every detail. The aging steel pressure cooker and steel cups look out of place in the architecture of the Glendale kitchen, as do the Bandhani pillowcases in the Glendale living room, but in its infinite contradictions, the house makes sense. The Kumars try their hardest to stay grounded in a foreign land, reminding themselves of what is important, of why they left home in the first place. But Tara is emboldened by these colorful, loud, unapologetic reminders of home to follow her dreams, not to be sated by notions of stability.

I want to shed new light on the conversation, to explore our togetherness, collective experiences, and healing. Our parents are doing this whole life-thing for the first time too. I wanted to start a raw, honest conversation about this all-too-familiar tension. I hope this film invites mothers and daughters from across the diaspora to start communicating openly, honestly, and vulnerably. And even more so – I hope this film invites mothers to join their daughters on their quests for their dreams.